"Shallow, repetitive gameplay can be fun if it's online!"

I've seen a lot of people giving this game perfect scores, and saying it's the greatest game ever made. Now, I respect other's opinions, but even though the online mode is quite fun and addicting, it doesn't make up in the huge flaws in the gameplay system enough for it to be an excellent game. I'll get to that in my review.

Graphics:

The game's pretty, there's no denying that. The textures all seem very clean, there's no fog to be seen, and the areas all look very cool. No complaints in this section, so I'll move along.

Music:

A little more variety would've been nice here. We're supposed to be playing this game for months, so why limit it to just a couple of tunes? Each area should've had 3 or 4 different songs instead of the one they're each given. It was all good music until I'd heard it 15 million times and got sick of it. They really needed a larger soundtrack.

Control:

Mediocre. They should've made it so when you get closer to a enemy, that you maintain your regular running/ walking speed instead of becoming a slowpoke that's an easy target for faster enemies like Chaos Bringers or Delsabers. Then the stronger monsters knock you over, while a group of Dimemans surround you, kick the crap outta you, and then you're high and dry till someone revives you. I felt this was a huge flaw, and it would've gotten an 8 if not for the poor control.

Game Play:

Now for the bread and butter of the game. Hack at enemies, pick up items, hack at more enemies, pick up items, move to next room, hack at yet more enemies, realize inventory is full, go back to town, sell items, return to forest/cave/mines/ruins/candy land to fight more enemies. That's Phantasy Star Online right there. Oh yeah, I suppose if you're doing one of the missions, you could tack on ''Complete objective of mission X'' to the end of that, but the missions usually don't cause you to go off the beaten path of killing monsters. If it wern't for the fact doing this with friends is a lot of fun, I would've given this game a 5, no question. Once you get online, it's the same game, flaws and all, but you're doing it with friends, and that's PSO's saving grace. It's cool playing the game with a group of people you may know from elsewhere, or met playing Phantasy Star Online. Also, it's really satisfying to watch a group of people growing along with you in a game like this. Sure, it'd be nice if PSO were a better game, but the online aspect sure does make it better. Not better to the point of the ''Perfects'' and ''Near-Perfects'' it seems to get from other reviews around the internet, but better.

Overall:

Phantasy Star Online is an average game made above average by it's online aspects. It could become a great game on it's own, if Sonic Team just added a lot more depth to the gameplay. I look forward to a sequel, because I'm sure I'd really like the game if some of it's problems were addressed. Until then, though, I'll just enjoy what I have and look forward to improvements.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/01, Updated 03/11/01